China Southern – A name which used to be unfamiliar to most. The airline came to light when it was upgraded from a 3-star airline to a 4-star airline just last year, despite having a below average product as compared to its other counterparts in the 4-star category. I, for one, had done a report last year to gauge if their service is up to the 4-star standard. Apparently, they had disappointed me time and again despite me giving them lots of chances to impress me. Do feel free to have a look at the report mentioned –

This time, I will be flying on China Southern once again on a short oriental hop from Shantou to Hong Kong. I was full of hope for this sector seeing that they have moved to a new airport in Shantou and wanted to see if their service standard has improved with the move. Did they flop, or did they excel? Am I gonna smash away any of their 4 stars or are they going to retain all 4 (from my own standard)? Why are they called “China Sudden” in my report? Read on to find out!

Pre-Flight

Having a flight at 9.20am and with the airport a 90 minutes’ drive away from where I stay, I had to wake up early at 5am. The old airport was much nearer as it is still in Shantou city whereas the new airport is in the neighbouring city known as Jieyang. I set off at 5.50am, 10 minutes before my scheduled time of 6am and reached the airport at 6.45am, 45 minutes earlier than what I have planned for at 7.30am. I did not mind spending more time at the airport as it looks really nice compared to the old one. The following pictures shall do it justice, with comparison to the old airport once again.

Kerbside of Jieyang Chaoshan Airport

Departure hall of Jieyang Chaoshan Airport

Check in counters of the old Shantou Waisha Airport

Check in counters of the new Jieyang Chaoshan Airport

Departures

Shantou Waisha Airport FIDS

Jieyang Chaoshan Airport FIDS

What shocked me the most when I entered the airport was the long line of people queuing up for the Economy Class check in at the international portion. It turns out that there is a Bangkok flight just an hour before mine and they are checking in now. I tried the check-in machines but it seemed like they needed “document verification” so I could not print my boarding pass straight away. Since there were no specific signs or announcements that the Hong Kong flight is not checking in yet, I joined the queue which took forever to move.

Queue that took forever to move

After a 30 minute wait, it was finally my turn to check in. This was where the drama happened.

“Where are you going to?’
“Hong Kong”
“Hong Kong is not checking in now. You can come back at 7.55am.” (The time was 7.20am which was 2 hours before my flight)
“What?! I have waited for 30 minutes in the queue and there were no announcements!”
“We made an announcement just now that we will be checking in the Bangkok flight first”
*Shows a super pissed off face and went off*

To add insult to injury, the particular male agent was very rude in his tone and did not even bother to look up when talking to me. Yes, good job CZ! You sure deserved to get an additional star! I went to the waiting area at the back to take a seat and admired the airport surroundings. It was beautifully built. That managed to cheer me up for a bit from the sucky male agent’s unprofessional behaviour.

Big board proudly announcing China Southern’s new service to URC and Tianjin Airline’s new service to Tianjin

At around 7.50am, check in for the Bangkok flight was finally done and some passengers started queuing up at the counter for the Hong Kong flight. I followed suit and was served within 3 minutes as the previous passenger was an Italian (rare to see a European in Shantou!) and not like the typical Chinese who will bring his whole house worth of stuff along for a trip.

The staff did not bother to greet me at all.
“To Hong Kong right?”
“Yes”
“Terminating at Hong Kong?”
“Yes”
“Only 1 bag?”
“Yes”
“Ok”
“May I have the right side window seat at the emergency exit row?”
“This flight is not very full so I might not be able to assign that row for you”
“How about row 31 at the bulkhead?”*Makes some call or whatever*
“Yes I can assign you 31K”
“Ok I’ll take that”

After printing the boarding pass, she literally SLAMMED my passport and boarding pass on the counter without saying a word. I had to ask if the check in is complete to get a very cold nod from her. What is this world turning to?

I decided to head airside immediately to see if there were any good catches although I don’t except any especially in this airport. I passed through the quarantine check (for H1N1 or whatever) and reached the immigration counters which were pretty empty and was greeted by a very kind agent who greeted me cheerfully and gave a huge smile as she was serving me. That definitely made my day and felt better after the “legendary” China “Sudden” service.

Now I guess it’s time to explain the story behind “China Sudden”. Every time I flew with CZ, all of the crew members from ground staff to FA to Captain would always say “Welcome onboard China Sudden” instead of “China Southern”. I guess this is due to their poor command in spoken English. Makes for a pretty good laugh though. I wonder if we’ll hear “China Eaten” next time I fly China Eastern.

Security check was done in pretty much less than a minute and I was at the gate waiting for my flight at 8am, 10 minutes after check in and 1h 20m before my flight at 9.20am. Throughout the security check, immigration and such, a repeated announcement was played throughout the whole airport.

Waiting area of the old Shantou Waisha Airport

…And in Jieyang Chaoshan Airport

Nice and spacious here

“Passengers travelling on China Sudden CZ375 to Bangkok, you airplane is taking off shortly. Please head to gate 22 for immediate boarding”

This repeated at least 20 times and made some passengers pretty nervous as they were on the flight and the Chinese version mentioned that the flight is taking off immediately. In fact, boarding has just started for the flight. Guess they wanted to make things faster. As I reached my gate, I looked at the plane to Bangkok and realized that it was B-5155, the first B738 with winglets that I flew and the one that introduced me to Shantou Waisha Airport. It also marked (I believe) the first trip report featuring Shantou Waisha Airport on a.net. Do feel free to read/comment on the report –

I sat down at a place near the China Southern first class lounge and looked for a wifi network. Indeed, there was one and I tried connecting. It worked but was very slow, like almost all the internet connections I experienced here. Probably I’m spoilt by the lightning speed internet at home?

China Southern lounge in Shantou Waisha

In Jieyang Chaoshan

Saying hi to an old friend

Boarding pass

When will boarding be ready?

While all 4 screens are showing the same stuff, that’s 100% of the international flights out of Jieyang Chaoshan Airport shown. Keep in mind that SIN and BKK flights are not daily

A Boeing 737-300, B-2909 was parked in the distance. I had no idea this was my plane

Boarding was pretty chaotic. While we were waiting at gate 21, the plane was actually at gate 20, the domestic side of the airport. There was actually a walkway to connect both sides of the airport and we had to walk all the way to the plane.

Finally boarding!

Looking out

Neighbouring gate

Legroom was good

Upon stepping onto the plane, there was chaos again. Passengers were unsure of where to sit and the flight attendant, who looked like she was having a period, struggled to guide the passengers to their seats. I sat down at my seat at 31K and noticed that the plane was pretty clean. This should be where CZ scores a wee bit of marks at. Legroom was pretty sufficient at the bulkhead row too.

We pushed back pretty early (around 8 minutes before schedule) and taxi-ed to runway 22 for takeoff. During the taxi, I was taking photos with my camera and the flight attendant came over and told me not to use it. I just remembered that 31C was actually reserved for the flight crew so there would be someone watching over you if seated in row 31. However, all he did was just to chat with the lady sitting at 31A. Flirting huh?

Last photo before takeoff

I could not take any photos during takeoff as he kept staring at me. The views during takeoff were beautiful. Lush green grass coupled with Jieyang’s rural landscape. All these views were unable to be shown to thousands of people around the world.

As soon as the seatbelt sign went off, I sprang into action again, but not having much of a mood to take photos. Service started soon after the seatbelt signs were off. I was expecting something better than my last flight which I received a pretty large packet of biscuits for the SWA-CAN route. Even if they could not offer something better, I guess they should have at least offered something similar. However, it seems like they decided to cut costs and offered me just a packet of peanuts. This sort of reminds me of the complaints of US airlines offering only peanuts for their flights. China Southern seems to like shocking me. After the peanuts saga, I pulled out my tray table and was shocked that it could not lock in place! Maintenance issues I guess.

Fail!

Wonderful clouds

More beautiful clouds along the way

4-star snacks

So with my precious packet of peanuts and a bottle of water, I sat back but did not relax and enjoy the flight. Back to the flight attendant at 31C, he disappeared for maybe 5 minutes after the seatbelt signs were off but went straight back and started chatting with the lady again. Sir, are you here for flirting or working? Flirt out of your working hours, please. Do you know that you are not allowed to flirt before takeoff?

The captain came on the microphone and advised us that we will be arriving into HKG at around 10.05am, 10 minutes before our scheduled arrival. Descend started at 9.50am and we finally touched down on runway 07L at HKG at 10.02am. I always loved using the satellite terminal in FSX so I hoped that we will be parked there. Sure enough, we parked at the satellite terminal.

United Airlines B738

This is our gate for today!

What I’ll be getting on in a few minutes

I found out after that we had to take a bus to the main terminal to proceed through immigration and such. This shall be the bad part about the satellite terminal then. However, I guess it is needed since there is not much space around HKG to build something more, unless they reclaim land into the sea which they are actually planning to do so and build a third runway.

Entrance to take the bus

My Days in Shantou

As usual, I did not walk around much but ate lots of good stuff. Here’s to share with you the food I had.

Boiling water for Chinese Tea

The art of making Chinese Tea, or known as “Gongfu Tea”

Traditional method of making clothes!

Breakfast the next day

Fresh seafood

Prawns, anyone?

Generous serving of beefballs (my favourite!) and some protein

Another of my favourite, cockles

It’s heaven in here! Here’s another of my favourite, oysters!

Something new to me – The fats between the cow’s neck and chest. It’s crunchy after being cooked. A sinful pleasure!

How can we forget some dietary fibre?

Making an appearance all together

Ready for a great meal!

Off to dinner – Some nice vegetables

Duck…

Lastly soup!

Rating & Conclusion

As a new system, I will start rating my flights with regards to several pointers. Each has different weightage but all add up to 100.

Aircraft Condition ( /30): Whether the aircraft is breaking apart of still sparkling new after numerous flights and whether the cabin is clean or dirty. Also includes aircraft exterior.Food ( /10): Taste and quality of food served, number of choices available.Service ( /30): Service standards of the cabin crew like attentiveness and effectiveness.Seat Comfort ( /10): If the seat width, seat pitch and cushions are comfortable enough for the flight duration. May also depends if my buttocks hurt after the flight. :pAmbience ( /10): How the ambience was like throughout the flight and if the right ambience was set at the right time.Ground Handling ( /10): How the ground staff handles the check-in and how fast the baggage arrives at the carousel.

Thanks for a nice report with nice pictures! Seems CZ is actually pretty good except for the not so friendly ground staff in SWA. The new airport there looks great although I probably wouldn't go there for spotting...... (too little traffic).

Nice of CZ to give you peanuts on such a short flight; on most airlines on flights of that length, you will not be served anything. Extra plus that the aircraft was very clean but since it most likely overnighted at SWA, that would not be surprising.

Food from HKG is defiantly not to my liking, none of it in fact, but each person has different taste.

Quoting Quokkas (Reply 1):I have been looking at China Southern's fares recently so your report comes at a good time.

Hi Quokkas, thanks for your reply! If there are other airlines available for whatever route you are searching for, go for it, even though it may cost a wee bit more. CZ fares aren't exactly cheap anyway.

Quoting Quokkas (Reply 1):This is very poor form. Basic courtesy costs nothing and its lack suggests poor training and an absence of professionalism.

Quoting The777Man (Reply 2):Seems CZ is actually pretty good except for the not so friendly ground staff in SWA.

Hi The777Man, thanks for your reply! I don't think they were good at all. Service was still at a very low standard and they lacked the basic courtesy and attitude required of crew of a 4-star airline.

Quoting The777Man (Reply 2):The new airport there looks great although I probably wouldn't go there for spotting...... (too little traffic).

Yes, true. The airport is pretty spotter friendly though. The road to the airport (on a bridge) lets you see the apron and runway without any obstruction.

Quoting The777Man (Reply 2):Nice of CZ to give you peanuts on such a short flight; on most airlines on flights of that length, you will not be served anything.

That might be the American thinking since most airlines there are like that. In this part of the world we'd expect a bit more.. On SQ you get served a sandwich at least on SIN-KUL. On TG (also 4 star, if you wanna compare) you'd also get at least a sandwich or wrap.

Quoting The777Man (Reply 2):Food from HKG is defiantly not to my liking, none of it in fact, but each person has different taste.

Actually those are food from SWA. HKG food will be featured in a later report.

Quoting initious (Reply 3):Hi The777Man, thanks for your reply! I don't think they were good at all. Service was still at a very low standard and they lacked the basic courtesy and attitude required of crew of a 4-star airline.

For a 43 min flight, you cannot expect too much; a clean aircraft and that the flight is early seems to good, only bad thing is the un-friendly ground crew. Not so sure the F/A should be up that much on a such a short flight.

The ratings system for four star airlines seems to be a joke so I don't get into that at all.

Quoting initious (Thread starter):After printing the boarding pass, she literally SLAMMED my passport and boarding pass on the counter without saying a word. I had to ask if the check in is complete to get a very cold nod from her. What is this world turning to?

Quoting initious (Thread starter): This sort of reminds me of the complaints of US airlines offering only peanuts for their flights

Unfortunately, only DL serves some sort of snack out all of the legacies. B6 and WN still do it however. Though I must admit that it's rather unusual not to see a full hot meal on Inter-Asian flights which I always envy...but if US carries do serve hot meals on domestic flights, then I have a feeling that they're going to get more complaints.

Once again, great trip report. It's a shame to see that China "Sudden" didn't live up to it's "4-Star" reputation.

Don't think that check-in experience is anything out of the ordinary. Last time in China, I checked in for my CA Business PVG-TPE, the agent didn't say a word, just slammed the boarding pass with the pre-assigned seat on the desk. The FM lounge had equally rude agents. CA service was good though.

I've never gotten anything but pre-packaged juice on SIN-KUL on SQ in Y. When the front end was sold as F, it was a lousy small cold plate.

Quoting initious (Thread starter):I could not take any photos during takeoff as he kept staring at me. The views during takeoff were beautiful. Lush green grass coupled with Jieyang’s rural landscape. All these views were unable to be shown to thousands of people around the world.

Is this really a legitimate complaint? It's kind of their job to make sure no one uses electronic devices during take off. Complaining about it is kind of like saying "i'm really upset that the flight attendants didn't break the rules which they're meant to strictly enforce".

Your report and pictures are great, don't get me wrong. I especially enjoyed all the pictures of the food

But I wonder if your expectations are a little high for mainland china, on a short flight from a 2nd tier destination. Remember that those FA's and checkin staff are working always with pushy mainlanders, most of whom are rude and show no etiquette.

Thanks for the trip report, I enjoyed your Jetstar report, but I think you're expectations are a little high on what is essentially a 43-minute "domestic" flight in economy class.

Don't you think you're being a little harsh and you're being a bit of a drama queen? Just a bit?

They told you that they made an announcement regarding the check-in time, but you sound in your report like you deny that they made it at all. Maybe you just missed it? Possible?

Check-in sounded a bit disorganized, but I guess it's their "system" and way of doing things.

Yes, ground staff were rude by your accounts, but were they China Southern staff or a ground handling agency?

The lady whom the flight attendant was "flirting" with is probably of the opinion that she was receiving good customer service and seeing "the human face" of a flight attendant.

It's all perception, really.

At least they gave you something to munch on - you could have received nothing at all as some other posters mentions.

You were "shocked" when your tray-table wouldn't lock into position? Really? Shocked?
Not a major issue - this can happen on any airline. I've had a busted tray-table on SQ.

Finally, I thought you were being a bit harsh on the flight attendant regarding the boarding.
"Looked like she was having her period?"
How, exactly, does a woman look when she's having her period?
A pretty sexist and misogynistic remark that wasn't really necessary in my humble opinion.

You left early, you arrived early, you got served something - albeit a packet of nuts on a 43 minute flight- and you got there safely. There's worse flights you could have taken.
Not a bad flight to be honest.

I have not flown with CZ for awhile however just a couple of months ago I wrote (e-mail) then after I could not get desired information on their website and the correspondence came back within 24 hours that I have never experienced with other airlines including some very admired carriers.
I had a bad experience with CZ the first time I flew with them in 2002, however the laters saw the improvement.

I am sorry to say but I have read several reports of some Singaporean users and most of them are a bit biased towards the Chinese carriers.

I flew with CX the first in 2003 Autumn and was totally disappointed (and p*ss off) and I could not resist but wrote to their customer service. I could only receive their responce 2 months after that. I expected too high of them (after reading reports on this site) and the reality was not met expectation. I have not flown with CX since and instead have chosen BR for North America flights. Believe me, I really love CX and want to fly with them, all of my relatives fly no other carriers but CX!!!

Hi Jezrel, thanks for your reply! Yeah, I suppose it's pretty hard for them to even fake a smile.

Quoting jetblue777 (Reply 7):This is how I feel...basically, every time I'm away from home.

Probably we're too used to our comfort zones...

Quoting lufthansa747 (Reply 8):Don't think that check-in experience is anything out of the ordinary. Last time in China, I checked in for my CA Business PVG-TPE, the agent didn't say a word, just slammed the boarding pass with the pre-assigned seat on the desk. The FM lounge had equally rude agents. CA service was good though.

Hi lufthansa747, I've had better agents in China and this particular one was pretty rude. I can't comment on FM or CA service but I did use the FM lounge in PVG when I flew TGPVG-BKK. The service was alright at the entrance.

[quote=fabianbrimfield,reply=9]Is this really a legitimate complaint? It's kind of their job to make sure no one uses electronic devices during take off. Complaining about it is kind of like saying "i'm really upset that the flight attendants didn't break the rules which they're meant to strictly enforce".

HI fabian. I am not complaining, just felt that it was a waste that the pictures could not be shown if I hadn't chose the front row seat.

Quoting fabianbrimfield (Reply 9):Your report and pictures are great, don't get me wrong. I especially enjoyed all the pictures of the food

Thanks for your compliment.

Quoting fabianbrimfield (Reply 9):But I wonder if your expectations are a little high for mainland china, on a short flight from a 2nd tier destination. Remember that those FA's and checkin staff are working always with pushy mainlanders, most of whom are rude and show no etiquette.

Indeed the mainlanders are abit pushy (and I tend to "blend' into their culture somehow at times) but it's pretty civilised for this flight as what I see.

Quoting roberts87 (Reply 10):Nice report, thanks for posting. Interesting to compare a "legacy" carrier like China Sudden and a newer carrier as Jetstar one trip!

Hi roberts, thanks for replying! I'd say it's even more interesting that a legacy got a much lower grading than the LCC.

Quoting Flyingsottsman (Reply 11):Great read, are all the Chinese Airlines like this, if service on CZ is like that on a short trip I wounder what isi would be like on a long haul like a MEL to Guanangzhou flight.

Hi flyingscottsman, I am not sure if the other Chinese airlines are like that as I have not tried them before. I heard that on some long haul flights they were horrendous but on some they were great so I guess it could be a hit or miss.

Quoting Thai744 (Reply 12):Don't you think you're being a little harsh and you're being a bit of a drama queen? Just a bit?

Hi Thai744, I do not deny that I might be a bit of a drama queen, probably due to the fact that I've had my fair share of bad (and overpriced) flights with CZ over the past few years.

Quoting Thai744 (Reply 12):They told you that they made an announcement regarding the check-in time, but you sound in your report like you deny that they made it at all. Maybe you just missed it? Possible?

I arrived at the airport at least 2.5 hours before my departure and there was absolutely no announcements at all. I was in the vicinity of the check in desks so I would have heard if they made any announcements.

Quoting Thai744 (Reply 12):Check-in sounded a bit disorganized, but I guess it's their "system" and way of doing things.

Probably, but still within my levels of acceptance.

Quoting Thai744 (Reply 12):Yes, ground staff were rude by your accounts, but were they China Southern staff or a ground handling agency?

I am pretty sure they are CZ staff seeing they wear the CZ uniform and such.

Quoting Thai744 (Reply 12):You were "shocked" when your tray-table wouldn't lock into position? Really? Shocked?
Not a major issue - this can happen on any airline. I've had a busted tray-table on SQ.

Sadly this is the first time I'm seeing this, probably due to the old age of the plane.

Quoting Thai744 (Reply 12):Finally, I thought you were being a bit harsh on the flight attendant regarding the boarding.
"Looked like she was having her period?"
How, exactly, does a woman look when she's having her period?
A pretty sexist and misogynistic remark that wasn't really necessary in my humble opinion.

That was for humour purposes, no sexist remarks intended.

Quoting Thai744 (Reply 12):You left early, you arrived early, you got served something - albeit a packet of nuts on a 43 minute flight- and you got there safely. There's worse flights you could have taken.
Not a bad flight to be honest.

Interestingly this flight is one of the worst I've been on, or you can say I've yet to experience the worst.

Quoting zoom1018 (Reply 14):I am sorry to say but I have read several reports of some Singaporean users and most of them are a bit biased towards the Chinese carriers.

Hi zoom, I disagree with your comment that we are biased against Chinese carriers. Sure we do fly SQ and other Singaporean airlines but we give our honest opinions. I've criticised SQ on their low class lounge invitation and commended other airlines (like TG or EK) on their great service, product and food.

Quoting nethkt (Reply 15):Yeah I feel the verdict on this report a bit harsh and exaggerated.
Nothing seems that horrid on this short flight. But maybe because I wasn't the one flying this flight like you.

Hi neth, I'd have to say being on the flight and reading about it can be 2 very different experiences. This was one of the flight that I wished I landed ASAP.

Quoting nethkt (Reply 15):I feel the same way, not only towards Chinese carriers but to all non-Singapore Airlines, SIA

Once again, I'll maintain my stand regarding our bias against non-Singaporean airlines. I have given good remarks for TG (which is your home carrier), EK and MH in my reports and even credited LCCs which perform well (3K and AK) without being bias. I so far have never seen any regular trip reporters from Singapore being bias towards SQ saying that everything there is the best while all others aren't. In fact, my favourite airline is not SQ, but TG.

Hi win, thanks for reading! Yes, it's certainly much nicer and spacious compared to the old one.

Quoting win1290 (Reply 18):Thanks for sharing, and the food pictures at the end look yummy

Hope that would make you want to visit Shantou one day. Not had to find a Teochew in Thailand (well for BKK, can't say for other cities) anyway, so you might be able to find those food in BKK too. Not sure about LHR if that's your current location!

great report about your latest CZ experience. Very nice pictures from Shantou!

Honestly, the star rating has become ridiculous. Jet Airways has just 3 stars, but offers an excellent international product (to be featured in my next report). And that's just one example.

Quoting initious (Thread starter):After a 30 minute wait, it was finally my turn to check in. This was where the drama happened.

“Where are you going to?’
“Hong Kong”
“Hong Kong is not checking in now. You can come back at 7.55am.” (The time was 7.20am which was 2 hours before my flight)
“What?! I have waited for 30 minutes in the queue and there were no announcements!”
“We made an announcement just now that we will be checking in the Bangkok flight first”
*Shows a super pissed off face and went off*

Quoting initious (Thread starter):To add insult to injury, the particular male agent was very rude in his tone and did not even bother to look up when talking to me.

That's very bad!

Quoting initious (Thread starter):The staff did not bother to greet me at all.
“To Hong Kong right?”
“Yes”
“Terminating at Hong Kong?”
“Yes”
“Only 1 bag?”
“Yes”
“Ok”
“May I have the right side window seat at the emergency exit row?”
“This flight is not very full so I might not be able to assign that row for you”
“How about row 31 at the bulkhead?”
*Makes some call or whatever*
“Yes I can assign you 31K”
“Ok I’ll take that”

After printing the boarding pass, she literally SLAMMED my passport and boarding pass on the counter without saying a word. I had to ask if the check in is complete to get a very cold nod from her. What is this world turning to?

What shame!

Quoting initious (Thread starter):Every time I flew with CZ, all of the crew members from ground staff to FA to Captain would always say “Welcome onboard China Sudden” instead of “China Southern”. I guess this is due to their poor command in spoken English. Makes for a pretty good laugh though. I wonder if we’ll hear “China Eaten” next time I fly China Eastern.

Quoting initious (Thread starter): As I reached my gate, I looked at the plane to Bangkok and realized that it was B-5155, the first B738 with winglets that I flew and the one that introduced me to Shantou Waisha Airport.

Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 20):Honestly, the star rating has become ridiculous. Jet Airways has just 3 stars, but offers an excellent international product (to be featured in my next report). And that's just one example.

Yes, certainly. I always wonder how Jetstar, a 3 star airline can do much better.

I guess B-5155 is based in Shantou. In fact, they have this little known subsidiary called Shantou Airlines which well, flies out of Shantou. However, it does not have a distinct code or livery, probably just a couple of planes assigned to be based in Shantou.

Nice report again!
Good to read about your flight on China Sudden Airlines.
The new SWA airport does indeed look really nice. CZ did indeed not really seem to impress. And that check-in agent sounded truly awful.

Hey Daniel, nice report. To me it seems like the Mainland Chinese carriers are like the US carriers of Asia, i.e worst in terms of service offerings.

Quoting initious (Thread starter):I, for one, had done a report last year to gauge if their service is up to the 4-star standard. Apparently, they had disappointed me time and again despite me giving them lots of chances to impress me.

Well I suppose the Skytrax ratings should be taken with a massive pinch of salt these days. Heck, they even rated MH a 5* airline, clearly they're not 5* it seems!

Quoting initious (Thread starter):“This flight is not very full so I might not be able to assign that row for you”

Well wouldn't it be the opposite, i.e them assigning you that seat since the flight was still fairly empty? Doesn't make sense to me.

Quoting signol (Reply 25):A pity you couldn't take too many photos on board, but theoretically they are the rules. Though the steward spending the flight flirting again doesn't give the company a good impression!

Yeah, although the flight time was only 43 minutes it felt like forever without me clicking my shutters!

Quoting Initious (Reply 21):I guess B-5155 is based in Shantou. In fact, they have this little known subsidiary called Shantou Airlines which well, flies out of Shantou. However, it does not have a distinct code or livery, probably just a couple of planes assigned to be based in Shantou.

I checked that on ATDB and yes, B-5155 is indeed based at Shantou along with two other 738s.